Protecting Our Future Through Public Health
Cracks are showing in established Republican trust and support for the antics of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., specifically regarding his policy changes to the childhood vaccine schedule. Vaccination is one of the greatest public health breakthroughs of the 20th Century, and this Secretary has done his best to erode that confidence in science and proven statistics.
Just a little step back to when our Administration was reasonable and trusted science gathered from over a century:
For review, last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated guidance about childhood vaccines. Most notably, rotavirus, COVID-19, influenza, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and meningococcal vaccines are no longer on the schedule for children and are available at discretion of their provider. Parents and providers are confused and concerned, but also health coverage generally follows this guidance so access to these preventive steps of public health to keep children and our population healthy is in jeopardy.
Preventable communicable diseases that can be curbed by vaccinations, such as measles and influenza, have spiked in the past year. Part of that is undeniably tied to the nonstop vaccine skepticism from the highest post in the federal government tasked with improving and protecting our health.
And as Americans, we all get this.
Again, back when there were adults in charge at the CDC, the message was important:
I can’t agree more with Republican Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, MD, here on his assessment. “Let’s just take care of people and move beyond your ideology.”
I don’t know how many times this Secretary or the Trump Administration needs to prove themselves through actions to be sticking to anti-science, anti-vaccine ideology despite denying so in the Secretary’s confirmation process. But, the Administration’s reassurances are on record. Following the upheaval at the Advisory Committee on Immunization Programs (ACIP), this latest movement wasn’t action in good faith by Secretary Kennedy but also not surprising for those watching at home.
I worry about our kids. I worry about your kids. But at a macro level, I worry about how these decisions impact coverage and availability for families across the country. We are talking about preventable deaths for all ages and that shouldn’t be taken lightly. This may seem like a small edict from the CDC, but the repercussions are very troubling and also follow the Trump playbook.
SOUND OFF
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